BY THE TIME we were done shopping and back at Leti and Rosalee’s hotel room, I was sober and smiling. Shopping had been a blast, but getting ready was even better! We got dressed and did one another’s hair, helping with makeup and hard-to-reach clasps. Before we knew it, the day had turned to night and we were meeting the guys at one of the bars downstairs.
“You sure?” Nina asked, and I smiled.
“Go have fun,” I reassured her. They wanted to gamble a little, and why not? It was Vegas after all. I just wasn’t in the mood. I’d already gambled enough with my heart the past week. A drink and a moment to think were exactly what I needed, and thankfully Nina could see that.
“Okay. If you change your mind, text me and we’ll find you,” she urged, and I nodded.
“Stop stressing. I’ll be right here. Go have fun. Put twenty”—I took a bill out of my clutch—“on red for me.”
“You got it.” She winked and walked away, the two girls ahead of her and Brandon waving bye before taking Nina’s hand as they disappeared into the crowded casino.
Sam hadn’t made it down for whatever reason, and it didn’t surprise me. We had left things on a weird note. For all I knew he had completely changed his mind about me. It wouldn’t be the first time a man had decided I wasn’t worth the time or effort.
I took a sip of the pretty drink I’d ordered and zoned out. Minute by minute passed as I people watched. People went and came in different states. Laughing and celebrating, somber and in between. Then the air shifted, and I knew he was near.
“You look fucking beautiful.” His familiar voice had my breath catching in my throat.
My hands clasped tightly around my Tequila Sunrise. I fought against the need to look at him, but I lost. I turned and I licked my lips. He was handsome. Masculine beauty to the umpteenth power. He hadn’t shaved, his scruffy jaw giving him a rugged appearance.
“Not so bad yourself, handsome.” I cleared the thickness away from my voice. God, he did things to me.
Sam Santino had style and swagger. In a light grey dress shirt that fit him like it was painted on, accentuating his broad shoulders and narrow waist, and navy-blue dress slacks with a great belt, the man could grace the pages of GQ without trying. He leaned in, and when his lips met mine, I relaxed. He’d kissed me. That had to mean something good, right?
“I missed you today,” he mumbled before nipping my bottom lip.
“Good,” I teased, feeling a little sassy and more confident with every kiss he stole.
He wouldn’t say he missed me if he didn’t mean it, right?
“We need to talk,” he announced, pulling away, and my smile stuttered, but his fingers held my chin up so I wouldn’t look away.
“Uh oh.” We need to talk were the words of death. It was never a good sign, and it might have made me an idiot, but I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to what could have been. “Sam…”
“Macie—” But I put my fingers to his lips. The confidence I’d felt was dwindling, and I didn’t want to lose it. Not completely.
“Can we leave the heavy to morning?”
“Baby?” He searched my eyes, and I shrugged.
“Whatever happens… I’ve had a great time with you. This week with you… I know this is going to sound stupid, but I’ve never felt more on the same page with anyone in my life.”
“Same, Cap.” I grinned.
“I’m not ready for it to end,” I whispered softly, but by the way his eyes softened, I knew he hadn’t missed my words. “Can we have one more night before we have to talk?”
“Anything you want, Cap.”
“Thanks.”
“Why are you at the bar alone?” he asked, searching my eyes.
“Just needed a drink.”
“Macie, are you feeling lucky?” he asked, twisting my barstool over so my body was in front of his. Something about the warmth and playfulness in his beautiful blues made me feel sassy.
“I don’t know, do I?”
“Oh, you are one lucky girl.” He leaned forward and nuzzled his nose against mine. “Tonight, Macie Marks, is going to be a night you will never forget,” he promised, and I leaned into him, letting him help me off my barstool. I let him take the lead because hell, he already had my heart.
Sam
The night had been a blur of drinks, dancing, and gambling.
I could still hear her laughter in my ears. Her smile and joy were burned into my memory and locked into my damn heart. I could see the sparkle in her eyes filled with warmth and affection in my mind’s eye. The feel of her body pressed up and tangled up with mine after we stumbled into the room and I ravished her body over and over, long past the sun rising. We’d both been insatiable, clinging to last moments of our trip.
“You’re up,” she whispered, and I smiled. I was dressed and sitting on a chair next to the bed where we’d shared magical moments together.
“I am.”
“You’re dressed.” She pulled the sheet up, covering her beauty from me, and I nodded.
“I don’t think we need to talk then,” she whispered, giving me a small smile. The defeated tone in her voice made my own heart hurt.
“Macie, baby—’
“It’s cool. I get it.” She took her eyes away from mine, and I knew she was building up her walls.
“I don’t think you do.” I grabbed her hand, and she didn’t pull it away. “I’ve never had roots anywhere.”
“Sam—’
“Please, let me say this, yeah?” I insisted, using my free hand to bring her face in my direction, her weary stare on me.
“Okay.” She swallowed hard, and I could see the fear. Fear of rejection and who knew what else.
“I’ve never had roots to anywhere or anyone. Not once did I want them.” When she glanced away, I knew what she was thinking, so I moved her chin up so she couldn’t look away from me. “Until you.” Her eyes widened and became glassy. “Until you, Macie Marks.” I moved her, wrapped up in a sheet, and sat her down on my lap, her sweet body warm and pliant. “Minute by minute, you got deeper and deeper under my skin. Making me want shit I have no business wanting.”
“Sam,” she whispered.
“I don’t want to say goodbye. Not even close, Cap. But I am man enough to tell you what I need. I need you to give me time. I need time for you to get to know me. Time for me to get my shit together. A job and a place of my own.”
“Let me guess, during this time, it’s okay for us to see other people and—“
“Fuck no!” I growled. The idea of any asshole even looking in my girl’s direction made my blood boil. Her brows rose at my reaction. “I’m an all-in kind of guy, Mace.”
“I haven’t had coffee yet, Sam, and after last night, I’m a little tired. So, you’re gonna have to explain it to me like I’m five.”
“That means I wanna be able to hand you the world, and it kills me I can’t,” I confessed.
“And I told you I didn’t need that. I’ve been around money my entire life—’
“Shh, Cap, breathe. Relax. You might not, but I do. Growing up, I knew the people watching me only did it for the money or credit. I need to be in a slightly better place. All I’m asking for is some time. I’ve never let myself dream of having anything like what I know I could have with you.”
“You sound pretty sure of yourself,” she mumbled. I wasn’t able to read her expression, but I wasn’t fucking around. After she’d left with the girls, yesterday I’d sat and stared out the floor-to-ceiling window and thought about what she’d said. Processing what I knew about her and what I wanted. I’d made a decision.
I was going to keep her.
I’d create roots and a home with her because she owned me. Heart and fucking soul she owned me so much I was talking about happily-ever-after. I wasn’t sure how the hell it happened, but it had. After talking to Brandon, I decided how to approach the situation. I hadn’t planned on a woman like Macie Marks entering my life, one who with every minute that ticked away seemed to engrain herself into me and burrow in deep. A woman who, minute by minute, chipped away all my defenses and made me want to be a better man. All without even trying!
“When it comes to you, how I feel about you, Macie, I’m being real with you. I don’t have any fucking doubts. If you have them about me, Mace, it’s okay. I’ll work on helping to clear them up. I just need time.” I was done playing games and was ready for more. Her hand squeezed my shoulders and moved to the back of my neck.
“So, you want time?”
“Time,” I repeated. “Time to spend with you, get this thing between us off with a solid foundation. And get my stuff straight,” I said honestly and waited.
“I can do that,” she whispered, light burning bright in her beautiful gaze.
“When I was planning my life, I didn’t see you as a possibility, Macie. Great fucking things happen without you planning on them, honey.” My voice was thick with honesty, and she exhaled slowly. Tears and a smile on her face were the last thing I saw before she kissed me.
